According to a report from The Blaze, more NHL teams are deciding against wearing pride-themed jerseys during warm-ups and during games. Many players are citing religious beliefs for the decision.
From The Blaze:
The San Jose Sharks’ James Reimer became the second player in two months to publicly opt out of wearing a “Pride”-themed warm-up jersey, joining the Philadelphia Flyers’ Ivan Provorov, who also cited his Christian beliefs as the reason not to participate.
Behind the scenes, multiple teams have decided that ditching the controversial theme altogether was a smarter move, either because of player refusal or to avoid a public relations black eye.
The Minnesota Wild were the latest team to scrap “Pride” celebrations by way of rainbow-themed warm-up jerseys, a move that prompted Yahoo News to ask “whether the league’s ‘Hockey is for Everyone’ initiative is anything more than empty words.”
This was despite the fact that the “Pride Night” was still recognized by the organization: “The Minnesota Wild organization is proud to continue our support for the LGBTQIA+ community by hosting our second annual pride night tonight which we are celebrating in many ways. It is important to host nights like this to show all players, fans, and the LGBTQIA+ community that hockey is for everyone,” a team press release reads.
More over at The Blaze:
Multiple NHL teams have opted out of 'Pride Night' jerseys, as resistance grows despite media pressure https://t.co/eKZUpwF3Pg
— Will 🇺🇸 🍢 (@NoLeftTurns) March 22, 2023
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